John M. Lewis now faces up to 60 years in prison on a second degree intentional homicide charge.

Police were called to the bar at about 1:34 a.m. to a report that someone had been shot outside. Witnesses told police the two men were arguing in the parking lot when Lewis pulled a gun and shot the victim, 27-year-old KC Elliot.

According to the criminal complaint:

Nicole Obeng-Asante, described by police as Lewis’ girlfriend, told police she heard “yelling about money” and saw the two men pushing and punching each other before Lewis fired a gun three to four times toward the ground. Obeng-Asante said she tried to intervene but was unsuccessful; the two men continued to fight until Lewis fired a second series of bullets, and Elliot was shot.

Multiple witnesses told police the gun — a .22-caliber pistol — was equipped with a silencer.

Lewis and Obeng-Asante fled the secene, stopped at Lewis’ apartment and moved several additional guns, including a shotgun, from his residence to a former girlfriend’s home in the 600 block of Fulton Street. Later he took a different car to a home in the 100 block of East Ross Avenue in Wausau to stay with a friend.

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John Lewis, 32, of Wausau, appears for his Wednesday plea at Marathon County Circuit Court in Wausau.(Photo: T'xer Zhon Kha/Daily Herald Media)

Lewis was captured hours later at the Ross Avenue home. Charges were filed against Lewis, the only publicly named suspect, two months after the shooting took place, according to a previous Daily Herald report.

Police searched the Fulton Street home and found two guns concealed in ceiling tiles, nearly 100 rounds of ammunition stowed in a Hello Kitty backpack and a “significant” quantity of heroin.

Elliot died hours after the shooting after undergoing several emergency procedures at Aspirus Wausau Hospital, according to the complaint. Autopsy results showed the cause of death was was a gunshot wound to the abdomen.Days after the shooting, police seized an iPhone from the vehicle Lewis was riding in when he left the tavern; the phone contained photos of Lewis holding a gun equipped with a silencer that matched the description of the weapon used in the shooting, according to a previous Daily Herald report.

Lewis has a long criminal history and has been in and out of prison since 2003, when he was convicted of drug trafficking and firearms charges. In 2009, Lewis was again convicted on cocaine trafficking charges and sent back to prison, where he remained until June 2012, according to court records.

One year later, Lewis was arrested again; on June 6, 2013, charges of manufacturing or delivering heroin and marijuana were filed against him in Marathon County Circuit Court, where he was released on a $15,000 signature bond.

Lewis’ original charges included multiple counts of possession of a firearm as a felon, possession of a firearm silencer, possession of heroin with intent to deliver, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and multiple bail jumping charges, but were dismissed as part of the plea agreement Wednesday.

Lewis is being held in Marathon County Jail on a $1 million dollar bond.